Hydrogen Gas Protects Brain Function After Surgery in Rats
- Authors
- Yuchang Xin, Huiying Liu, Peng Zhang, Liuhui Chang, Ke-Liang Xie
- Journal
- Neuroreport
- Year
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000824
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Inhaling hydrogen gas after surgery helped improve memory and thinking skills in rats by reducing inflammation and cell death in the brain.
Key Finding
Rats that breathed hydrogen gas after surgery showed significantly improved cognitive function and reduced brain inflammation compared to surgery-only controls.
Summary
This study tested whether breathing hydrogen gas could help prevent memory and thinking problems that sometimes occur after surgery. Rats that had surgery showed cognitive decline, but those that breathed 2% hydrogen gas for 3 hours after surgery showed significant improvement in memory and learning tests. The hydrogen treatment also reduced inflammation markers in the brain and blood, and protected the barrier that controls what enters the brain.
Practical Takeaway
This is early animal research suggesting hydrogen gas may help protect the brain after surgery, but it's far from proven in humans. The study was conducted only in rats, so results may not translate directly to people. More research, including human trials, would be needed before hydrogen therapy could be considered for postoperative cognitive decline in surgical patients.
Abstract
Postoperative cognitive decline is a major clinical problem with high morbidity and mortality after surgery. Many studies have found that molecular hydrogen (H2) has significant neuroprotection against acute and chronic neurological injury by regulating inflammation and apoptosis. In this study, we hypothesized that H2 treatment could ameliorate the development of cognitive impairment following surgery. Adult male rats were subjected to stabilized tibial fracture operation under anesthesia. Two percent of H2 was inhaled for 3 h beginning at 1 h after surgery. Separate cohorts of rats were tested for cognitive function with fear conditioning and the Y-maze test, or euthanized to assess blood-brain barrier integrity, and systemic and hippocampal proinflammatory cytokine and caspase-3 activity. Surgery-challenged animals showed significant cognitive impairment evidenced by a decreased percentage of freezing time and an increased number of learning trials on days 1, 3, and 7 after operation, which were significantly improved by H2 treatment. Furthermore, H2 treatment significantly ameliorated the increase in serum and hippocampal proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and high-mobility group protein 1 in surgery-challenged animals. Moreover, H2 treatment markedly improved blood-brain barrier integrity and reduced caspase-3 activity in the hippocampus of surgery-challenged animals. These findings suggest that H2 treatment could significantly mitigate surgery-induced cognitive impairment by regulating inflammation and apoptosis.